thrustnut Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 I got really ticked off last night on the way home from work. I was driving the Z through down town Bend, Or. (not much to it) at about two in the morning and a cop got behind me. He was pretty far back, so no big deal, then he speeds up to close in on my back bumper. Now I'm not doing anything...maybe five over, all my lights work, so I'm still not worried, but he's still following me close. After about a mile we are rolling up to a red light, I turn on my left signal and get into the turning lane, he rolls straight, then gets halfway into the turn lane (no signal) at the last minute and stops so close I think he's about to tap my bumper. I figure he's running my plates, I don't have anything outstanding so no big deal. We take off and I change lanes (with blinker) to get out of his way, and what do you know, I have a tail. I switch back and so dose he, then he follows me about another mile or two again, right on my bumper before turning off into a 7-11. What the F is the deal? It's pretty irritating that you can do nothing wrong (other then driving a semi-loud camed out sports car) and have cops up your butt your whole drive home. Sorry for the long rant, this isn't the first time it's happened in the Z, just getting a little peeved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 some (not all) police officers join the force for wrong reasons, such as superiority complex. Get a badge and a uniform, and think they have the right to ♥♥♥♥ with people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 2am is the magic hour for drunks around here and sporty cars are the car of choice of drunk college kids. The cops usually start sniffing pretty hard at 2am after a weekend. It's normal. Now getting right into your hatch is a bit aggressive for anyone(cop or not). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 I know the hour was wrong, and I don't mind being followed for a while or getting my plates run... do you job, you know? But you think they would realize that people do have to work weird hours, and after a mile or so, obviously I'm not drunk or stupid, so go find someone who is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 But don't you feel safer with all that scrutiny? Wouldn't you feel better knowing a law enforcement person was that close with your kids in your car? ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stravi757 Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 cops are pricks, in the area I live, I have only run into two cops that are respectful and reasonable. The rest of them are assholes. one cop gave me a ticket for driving on the right side of the road...not lying, I still have the ticket to prove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 I've had this happen twice to me when I lived in San Jose, working late nights. The first time I was quite annoyed and pulled over, hard on the brakes. He almost rear ended me. Like R.P. was saying, he was looking for drunks. Once he discovered I was sober he sent me on my way, end of tailing. The second time I had less attitude and pulled over early (and without the high peddle pressure). Same deal, looking for drunks. The cop appreciated the responce and actually appologized. But, like Alex says, cops are like regular people, some nice and some rotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 Hey Tony...nothing personal, we all make our own choices. That's what makes living where we do great. It's kinda funny, right after I moved here I was commuting about 15 miles on the highway back and forth to work at 2ish in the morning, but at that time I had a 1986 Subaru GL station wagon (not in the best shape... and yes I put my kids in it Tony) and got followed the whole way home at least once a week. I just kinda chocked it up to the car, it had "drunk or crack head" written all over it. Never got stopped though. Isn't there some law about how far you can be followed? I though I herd something once about if your followed for over a mile it's entrapment and you can't be stopped. Obvious stuff like speeding would be an exception I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 7 times in 6 weeks, pulled over and had guns drawn, driving home from call-outs at work in a remote area of Brea known for drug dealing. Long haired, bearded white guy driving a 62 Microbus... Last time I was stopped it got into a full to-doo with me demanding the watch commander come to the site and lodging a formal complaint with the police the following morning. One time, (6th stop, less than 300 ft from the 5th stop!) my reply to 'what are you doing going down this road?' was 'because I can, it's a free country!' (prepare for total strip of the car searching it...) 7th stop put me over the top, after stops 5 and 6 and the searching... Any contention of distance and 'not stopping you' is urban myth. It's like saying you can't get pregnant if you do it standing up. It's all about safety, though. The farther they follow you, the safer you are! Why would someone not want a cop following them? You would never get rear-ended, right? (some arguments seem silly when in one context, yet seem proper in another context...shouldn't they be considered silly in both contexts?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 Wow, once a week...profiling at it's finest! And to be honest, I don't want anyone to follow me...I want the roads to myself. Then I can finally drive my go-cart to work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Wow, once a week...profiling at it's finest! And to be honest, I don't want anyone to follow me...I want the roads to myself. Then I can finally drive my go-cart to work! Haha go-cart, that's what my buddy with a 3rd Gen Camaro calls my S30. I drove for 6 years in Baton Rouge, I was pulled over once in my 2000 Accord Sedan in all of those 6 years after leaving a bar one night. [Hadn't been drinking that night] I moved up to Arkansas last June, and since then I've been pulled over 13 times. Yes, 13 times. One ticket, but I got out of it. [Cop said I was spinning out at an intersection, which I wasn't] I attribute it to the lack of actual crime up here, so the police don't have much to do but write traffic citations. I'm finally putting a full exhaust on my S30 this weekend so hopefully I'll attract less attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 Maybe that's part of it... I don't think we have much crime here, maybe he just needed something to do. I can't imagine driving around here without an exhaust, I don't think I would make it a block! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 One time, (6th stop, less than 300 ft from the 5th stop!) my reply to 'what are you doing going down this road?' was 'because I can, it's a free country!' (prepare for total strip of the car searching it...) I love that one. My friend's brother got nailed for "driving about without a purpose". He went to court and won. I can't remember what he said, but we had suggested that he either said that his purpose was to burn gas, or that he wanted to get a better view of the stars, so he figured he'd drive down the street. I think his argument might have been "I had a purpose but I didn't want to tell the policeman what it was because it's none of his business." Driving while 2AM is BS, plain and simple. Sorry you got hassled for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 ID just stop the car and ask him if he was lost... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thats funny, when I got to the stop light I sereousley thought about getting out and talking to the cop, but thought a nervous a-hole with a gun and cuffs kinda got the better of me. I also thought about pulling off and turning the hazards on, but thought that would give him a reason to be a bigger a**. Just trying to do the right thing and keep my nose clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rolling Parts Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I got pulled over 3 times in one night because some yahoo robbed a Taco Bell on a motorcycle (and I was on my bike that night). The first two stops were very cordial but the 3rd one had Barney Fife with his one bullet in the chamber asking me to get down. I asked if he heard on the radio that his his buddies already stopped me twice already but he "knew" he had the guy. An hour later after calmly presenting all my information and I never heard anything again. Moral is that you just have to keep it professional, calm, and always comply and you won't get your a$$ kicked... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 John Coffee can confirm where this occurred: Lambert Road as it enters Carbon Canyon, with the light at Valencia. Stop #5 I was heading towards the canyon, the cop was coming out of the canyon. 2AM on a sunday morning, cop has his light on 100 yds in FRONT of me coming the other way. Tells me he stopped me because I didn't have a back bumper on (it was in the back) and I told him I did an engine change earlier in the day, and didn't want to put it back on before I made sure it was all good and I had a couple of miles on it. I was planning on putting it on at work on Monday, anway. Showed him the bumper in the back of the van. Takes about 15 minutes. He releases me. (How they saw I had no bumper on in back while they were 100 yds in front of me is still up to interpretation, I call BS myself...) I pull from the shoulder, to the left turn lane as the left turn light to Northbound Valencia comes on, and I start up the road to the dump (which is were my Generating Station was located). Cop lights me up, and SCREAMS through the intersection against the light. I'm like "WTF?" as I wait for the SAME COP that JUST STOPPED ME 100 FEET BEFORE come up and ask: "Why are you going down this road?" I mean, at that point...'my cup was full' and I didn't think I owed him ANY damn explanation. ESPECIALLY if he thought I was so stupid to be pulling down a drug corridor with him there WATCHING ME. He ends up tearing everything apart in my van looking for crap. After abour 45 minutes, I hear the noise of the generators coming through the canyon making the cyclic noises they make just before shutdown. At which point I kind of suggested to him "I hope to hell you TICKET ME OR SOMETHING QUICKLY! Hear that noise? That's the sound of 5.5 Megawatts getting ready to go offline because of your paranoia. I'm going to have to explain this to my A-H boss in the morning, thanks to you!" He let me go shortly thereafter (plant now totally shut down). I get to the dump main gate, and there's four or five cars parked around a station wagon and a bunch of teenagers. They are all nervous, until they realize I'm not a cop, and just a guy going to work. "Hey, we're running a train on my buddys sister, you want to join?" Er, no thanks guys, but you might want to post some lookouts, the cops just stopped me TWICE at the entry to this street, and they probably will be coming down here in a couple of minutes to check up on me! Yeah, I'm a real menace to society. That had to be '93, just after a couple of Brea Cops were shot. Definately after the Rodney Riots for sure (reason below). The NEXT weekend on stop #7, I voiced the opinion that the reason Brea Cops were being shot was because they were making BS Traffic Stops on citizens doing nothing but going to or from work. I refused to give them my I.D. and insisted the field supervisor report to the scene, and suggested strongly that if they didn't want litigation, that the rookie over my right shoulder with his service weapon unholstered and pointed at my head from a quartering view of the van (guy who came to the door had his service weapon's holster strap unsnapped as well) should holster his weapon, that the guy making the interview put his safety strap back on his holster, and that they simply go back to the car and call in supervision and whatever backup they thought they needed. When the supervisor arrived (sgt) I asked him if all of Brea's Night Shift Cops were responding to my traffic stop, because I want to make sure THEY ALL KNEW that I WORK ON THE DUMP, that I'm subject to call out at odd hours, and that this was the 7th time in 6 weeks they hassled me over being on the street between midnight and 3AM. And that I was making a formal complaint with the police watch commander, as well as someone on dayshift over the incident. I was not speeding, I didn't have lights out. I was simply a guy with long hair, a beard, an old Fatigue Jacket, and was driving a VW Microbus at 2AM on a Sunday Morning... Yeah, only some 'minorities' are profiled, right? After that, I wasn't stopped again. Funny thing was during that last stop, they uncovered a whole LAPD Training Text on PPCT and various control and cuffing (speedcuffing) procedures. They were very interested in why I was in posession of them. I told them the truth, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I worked at the LAPD Los Felix Location (Academy) training new and requalifying officers in these techniques. The look on their faces was 'Oh, man, I'm glad I didn't try to take this guy out of the car and cuff him...' And they're right. It would not have been pretty. Especially with their poor approach and panic control. Hell, LAPD wanted someone that wasn't 'like all the other cops' (meaning different body profile) to instruct because they were all about the same and weren't taking training seriously and it was going to get them killed on the job. My exact instructions were 'kick these guys a$$es and show them why they need to take this training seriously'...yeah, give me carte blanche to whomp on Cops? He he he, a dream come true! "Thank you sir, may I have another" was what came to mind as they got chucked around. Mind you, I was probably 60# lighter and continually training then, but I was literally sending guys flying. My cup was full, and if they had made the mistake of pulling me out of the car on that stop #7...well...I probably wouldn't be here typing this right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MastersMechanic Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 The reason the cop was following you might have been because, when he ran your plates you weren't in locals(meaning that you are not in that county's computer system). So then they have to look you up on a state wide database that takes more time to get a hit. How it works is they run your plate; the number comes back with the vehicle information it tells if plates are expired or the car is stolen or if it has unpaid tickets, and it'll have the owner(s) of the vehicle's OLN(operators license number). then you can take the OLN and enter it into a local search which checks that county's records, for warrants and driving record. if you do not have a record in that county, you have to run a statewide check. Try doing this while driving takes some time. Yea some cops are jerks. but they have to deal with the worst of society. you have to remember that cops don't make the laws they just have to enforce them. Remember they are not donuts they are pastries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 My plates are local, and I don't mind if they follow me for a while, I don't mind if they get close to me...but after three miles a few stop lights, changing lanes, stoping so close that I cant see the head light out the back hatch of a Z? Come on...I wish he would have stoped me so I could ask him what exactly I was doing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MastersMechanic Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Sounds like a jerk, if you can get his plates you can always put-in a complaint with his superior. It has happened to me. going on a code run to an alarm call in my charger to a possible burg. A few blocks before I arrive at the location of the alarm. I shut off all lights and sirens to be incognito to try to catch the burg. In the act. I catch up to a little ol blue hair driving the speed limit like every outstanding citizen should. I was trying to get to the house,and I might have been a little close, So when I arrive and while checking out the house, she wrote my patrol unit down and called my sgt. and complained about me following to close. In my Dept. all complaints go in your personel file for a year before you can put in a repeal. It sucks. I actually called her up and apoligized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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